Hello,
I'm a newbie to WP and Atahualpa, and I want to set up my Atahualpa theme correctly before I start to customize it.

Assuming I want to make a number of customizations to the theme, should I create a child theme so Atahualpa will update with my changes correctly for future updates? If so how? (send me a link to instructions if possible, please)

What's the best way to prevent problems with future updates to the theme?

Thanks!
-Gary

all the atahualpa 'options' are stored in the database so they carry forth over theme upgrades, no need to create child theme, you shouldn't have to update the code.

"No need to create a child theme" is an arrogant statement. Or just incomptetence.

I use child themes of Atahualpa. I need to, especially after php functions had to be removed from theme options.

The main problem is that all the fuctions ion functions.php lack the condition function_exsits. If I then create my own functions.php trying to override tha atahualpa functions it will fail.

Overriding theme files like index.php works.

"No need to create a child theme" is an arrogant statement. Or just incomptetence.

for all my experience with the theme I have yet to use a child theme with it.

Can you create a child theme - yes (I've created one for testing)
Do I think you need to - no
Might there be a case where it is needed - absolutely.

You need child themes with most themes because they are not as flexable as Atahualpa. I see it as one of the reasons that most people like Atahualpa.

The lack of child theme support is the reason I don't use Atahualpa for customized sites. Instead I use Suffusion.

I have also stopped regularly updating my Atahualpa themes because of all the manual steps involved (the header images and icons disappear).

I would really appreciate better child theme support, but there doesn't seem to be any interested in it. To bad.

Faffe, I don't understand why you say there is no child theme support. You can create a child theme with Atahualpa.

The reason that header images were in the theme folders was a WORDPRESS THEME REQUIREMENT (a bad one in my mind) prior to WP 3.x. Same holds true for the removal of PHP in the theme options, it became a Wordpress theme REQUIREMENT (a poor one in my mind, but I don't make the requirements).

With the new ability for themes to use files in the media library, I'm hoping that the theme will be updated to use it. Never the less, you always have had the option to replace the %image with a new widget area, put a widget like 'Dynamic Images' in the header and your issue with header images is fixed.

One example is when you need to change the loop. In the Atahualpa Options I find this statement:

To edit the loop or to add custom code before/after the loop, manually edit index.php.

You should never edit a theme file that you haven't written yourself, because it will be overwritten by an update of the theme. Create a child theme.

There may be many good reasons to want to modify the loop, above the loop or after the loop. This was the reason for earlier versions of Atahualpa to include custom PHP as part of the theme options, to do this. An example is to add support for special treatment of custom content types, the post format taxonomy or custom taxonomies.

Atahualpa may be flexible, more flexible then most themes, but not endlessly flexible. And there are things that Atahualpa just doesn't support, or let you handle flexibly.

Hmmm... there doesn't seem to be a consensus here...

If I do a child theme, is there any potential down side to it? Will it be more challenging to customize?

Can anyone direct me to a link of the best way to set up a child theme to Atahualpa?

Thanks
-Gary

I am currently using this template...made a donation so I could remove the footer credit. (sorry I know it deserves all the credit it can get) But when the theme went through an update cycle, the original credit came back. So without a child-theme, how do you keep your changes from reverting to the original settings, such as the footer credit?

Unfortunately any theme file modifications such as the footer credit will have to be redone if you update the theme.